Planning to File N-400 - Please Advise

[gc_two_citizen]

This a great forum and I have been reading this past couple of months. You share lot of good information.

Below are brief facts about my case. Based on what I gather, I am planning file my application for citizenship in May 2012. Can you please comment on my eligibility, see if I miss anything?

- My GC was approved in June 2007.
- Left US in January 2008 on vacation and returned back in February 2008. (outside US - 1 month).
- Left US in May 21 2008 and returned back to US in November 12 2008 (outside US - 5 mos 22 days).
- Stayed in US for a week and travelled back to home country on 20 November 2009 returned back in March 10 2009. (Outside US - 3months 20 days).
(I was working for the US employer the whole time from my home country and filed my tax returns promptly all these years.)
- Since March 2009, I did not leave US. (continuous stay 36 months)

I am planning to apply for citizenship in May 2012 (4yrs 10 months after I received GC). With my travel history, above, do you guys think I can apply for citizenship next month or wait longer? Please comment.

 

[nwctzn]

This a great forum and I have been reading this past couple of months. You share lot of good information.

Below are brief facts about my case. Based on what I gather, I am planning file my application for citizenship in May 2012. Can you please comment on my eligibility, see if I miss anything?

- My GC was approved in June 2007.
- Left US in January 2008 on vacation and returned back in February 2008. (outside US - 1 month).
- Left US in May 21 2008 and returned back to US in November 12 2008 (outside US - 5 mos 22 days).
- Stayed in US for a week and travelled back to home country on 20 November 2009 returned back in March 10 2009. (Outside US - 3months 20 days).
(I was working for the US employer the whole time from my home country and filed my tax returns promptly all these years.)
- Since March 2009, I did not leave US. (continuous stay 36 months)

I am planning to apply for citizenship in May 2012 (4yrs 10 months after I received GC). With my travel history, above, do you guys think I can apply for citizenship next month or wait longer? Please comment.

Looks like you are in good shape with respect to both continuous residence and physical presence requirements and you're ready to apply.

You do not have any trips longer than 6 months, so you should be fine. The officer still may ask why you left for 5 months and 22 days on one trip, and the other 3 months and 20 days. So just in case, be prepared to answer those.

 

[gc_two_citizen]

Follow up questions on N-400 Filing

Looks like you are in good shape with respect to both continuous residence and physical presence requirements and you're ready to apply.

You do not have any trips longer than 6 months, so you should be fine. The officer still may ask why you left for 5 months and 22 days on one trip, and the other 3 months and 20 days. So just in case, be prepared to answer those.

Hi - I am getting ready to file my N-400 this month. Can someone please help/advise on these two questions:

1. Do I have to notarize the birth and divorce certificates? When I applied for 485 in 2007, I submitted date of birth affidavits from my mom and dad without notarizing and they were accepted. I want to make sure if I can submit the same without notarizing and same goes with divorce order from the court from another country?

2. I have received 2 minor traffic tickets back in 2010 for which I hired an attorney and paid the fine. Attorney attended the court and paid the fine back in and said they were taken care of and they will not show up in my record. Do I need to mention these tickets in the application or during the interview if asked?

thanks for your time.

 

[gc_two_citizen]

Can someone please respond?

Can someone please respond?

 

[Jackolantern]

You said you submitted date of birth affidavits for the I-485 ... I assume that means you don't have a birth certificate?

1. Do I have to notarize the birth and divorce certificates? When I applied for 485 in 2007, I submitted date of birth affidavits from my mom and dad without notarizing and they were accepted. I want to make sure if I can submit the same without notarizing and same goes with divorce order from the court from another country?

Bring the official divorce decree from the court to the interview. You can also bring a (non-notarized) photocopy of it for the convenience of the interviewer, so they don't have to take the time to make a copy.

2. I have received 2 minor traffic tickets back in 2010 for which I hired an attorney and paid the fine. Attorney attended the court and paid the fine back in and said they were taken care of and they will not show up in my record. Do I need to mention these tickets in the application or during the interview if asked?

There's a big long debate about that. See http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?81187

 

[nwctzn]

Hi - I am getting ready to file my N-400 this month. Can someone please help/advise on these two questions:

1. Do I have to notarize the birth and divorce certificates? When I applied for 485 in 2007, I submitted date of birth affidavits from my mom and dad without notarizing and they were accepted. I want to make sure if I can submit the same without notarizing and same goes with divorce order from the court from another country?

2. I have received 2 minor traffic tickets back in 2010 for which I hired an attorney and paid the fine. Attorney attended the court and paid the fine back in and said they were taken care of and they will not show up in my record. Do I need to mention these tickets in the application or during the interview if asked?

thanks for your time.

1. For N400, you do not need to submit a birth certificate

2. Getting a traffic ticket means that you got cited and hence you need to mention them on your form and in the interview. Do you have all the court paperwork showing that this has been taken care of. If yes, you can include a letter explaining the tickets and also photocopies of the court paperwork showing that it has been cleared.

 

[gc_two_citizen]

1. For N400, you do not need to submit a birth certificate

2. Getting a traffic ticket means that you got cited and hence you need to mention them on your form and in the interview. Do you have all the court paperwork showing that this has been taken care of. If yes, you can include a letter explaining the tickets and also photocopies of the court paperwork showing that it has been cleared.

Thank you nwctzn.

I do not have a court paperwork. Just took attorney's word, since he paid the fine. However, I checked my DMV record yesterday and it showed no points or whatsoever since 2003 where I have been a resident. So hypothetically asking, in this case if I answer "No" that I never received one, is there a way they would know about them?

Thanks again.

 

[nwctzn]

Thank you nwctzn.

I do not have a court paperwork. Just took attorney's word, since he paid the fine. However, I checked my DMV record yesterday and it showed no points or whatsoever since 2003 where I have been a resident. So hypothetically asking, in this case if I answer "No" that I never received one, is there a way they would know about them?

Thanks again.

Doesn't the attorney have any kind of paperwork for your case? He should keep a file for all of the clients, right? Just his "word" that he paid it sounds fishy. Really strange!

My advice: Get the papers from the attorney and take them with you to the interview. At the interview, disclose to the officer that you had two minor tickets and show the paperwork that it has been taken care of.

 

[gc_two_citizen]

hi

Doesn't the attorney have any kind of paperwork for your case? He should keep a file for all of the clients, right? Just his "word" that he paid it sounds fishy. Really strange!

My advice: Get the papers from the attorney and take them with you to the interview. At the interview, disclose to the officer that you had two minor tickets and show the paperwork that it has been taken care of.

Well nwctzn, I meant to say I spoke to the attorney after his court appearance and he said he paid the fine. I did not ask him about any record or paperwork becase the fine was about $160 and did not think it was a big deal. Also, I cross verified the information by calling the court clerk 's office that they received the fine. So I put this issue behind and moved on. This happened 2 years ago. Now I am getting ready to file the N-400 and trying to gather all that I need to know for submission and also interview thought to check about these two pieces: one speeding ticket and divorce decree whether it needs to be notarized while submitting along with n-400.

 

[gc_two_citizen]

hi

You said you submitted date of birth affidavits for the I-485 ... I assume that means you don't have a birth certificate?


Bring the official divorce decree from the court to the interview. You can also bring a (non-notarized) photocopy of it for the convenience of the interviewer, so they don't have to take the time to make a copy.


There's a big long debate about that. See http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?81187

Jackolantern - I did have a birth certificate, but at the time of filing my 485 in 2007 my attorney also requested me submit the affidavits from my mom and dad in support of my birth information. This is just an extra caution I guess. Now I guess I do not need to submit birth certificate along with N-400. But re: divorce decree, I did have the copy of divorce decree from the court. Do I need to notarize it while submitting with N-400? or Just carry it to the interview?

 

[nwctzn]

Well nwctzn, I meant to say I spoke to the attorney after his court appearance and he said he paid the fine. I did not ask him about any record or paperwork becase the fine was about $160 and did not think it was a big deal. Also, I cross verified the information by calling the court clerk 's office that they received the fine. So I put this issue behind and moved on. This happened 2 years ago. Now I am getting ready to file the N-400 and trying to gather all that I need to know for submission and also interview thought to check about these two pieces: one speeding ticket and divorce decree whether it needs to be notarized while submitting along with n-400.

I see your point. My remark was just for the case if the interviewing officer asks for any receipt or some paperwork that the tickets were taken care of. You say the court is not producing any paperwork, so the next resource would be your attorney who hopefully keeps some records of his clients. It cannot hurt to ask your attorney if he has some paperwork or not. Just my two cents.

 

[BigJoe5]

If the traffic incidents were not DUIs, hit and run, and you did not seriously injure or kill anyone (which is probably the case), then the USCIS Officer won't really care about it or at least shouldn't because it is virtually meaningless UNLESS you make it into something by trying to hide it.

 

[Jackolantern]

Jackolantern - I did have a birth certificate, but at the time of filing my 485 in 2007 my attorney also requested me submit the affidavits from my mom and dad in support of my birth information. This is just an extra caution I guess. Now I guess I do not need to submit birth certificate along with N-400. But re: divorce decree, I did have the copy of divorce decree from the court. Do I need to notarize it while submitting with N-400? or Just carry it to the interview?

Bring the divorce decree to the interview, you don't have to send it with the N-400. But if you want to submit it with the N-400, send a regular (non-notarized) photocopy of it, and be prepared to show the official court copy at the interview if they ask for it.

Note that if you already submitted the divorce decree during your green card process, you shouldn't send it with the N-400, and they probably won't ask for it at the naturalization interview.

 

[Marusia_GC]

Hi - I am getting ready to file my N-400 this month. Can someone please help/advise on these two questions:

1. Do I have to notarize the birth and divorce certificates? When I applied for 485 in 2007, I submitted date of birth affidavits from my mom and dad without notarizing and they were accepted. I want to make sure if I can submit the same without notarizing and same goes with divorce order from the court from another country?

2. I have received 2 minor traffic tickets back in 2010 for which I hired an attorney and paid the fine. Attorney attended the court and paid the fine back in and said they were taken care of and they will not show up in my record. Do I need to mention these tickets in the application or during the interview if asked?

thanks for your time.

1. I advise to translate your birth and divorce certificates, notarize them and notarize a copy of the originals at a local bank, where you are a client - in many banks they have public notaries who do this for clients for free. I did the same with all my documents issued not in the US.
2. Minor traffic fines less than $500 are not counted. However, you may mention them at the interview, if an IO asks. This would not affect your application, but will certify your honesty.

 

[Jackolantern]

1. I advise to translate your birth and divorce certificates, notarize them and notarize a copy of the originals at a local bank, where you are a client - in many banks they have public notaries who do this for clients for free.

Making notarized copies is totally unnecessary for a naturalization case that isn't based on marriage. It's sufficient to bring the official birth and divorce certificates to the interview (along with English translations, if applicable), and then show them only if specifically asked.

The birth certificate is unlikely to be requested unless there is an inconsistency with one's name or date of birth on different documents, and the divorce decree is unlikely to be requested if the USCIS was already notified of the divorce during the green card process.